Dear Friends,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Giving happens all year in Northville. Community members, business establishments, non-profits, arts and service organizations, houses of worship, and our staff at Northville have stepped up over and over again to support our children, families, and programs. Our children are giving as well. This year our students' 2022 Unicef donation was $347.01 -- thank you for making this possible, Ms. Thomarie. See what our students are grateful for in their "Grateful Trees" art project here. As always, I've shared just a few of the many experiences that are taking place in our school.
Happy Holidays: Wishing you the best over the upcoming holidays. If you are not in the spirit already, our Snow Day Recess video below should help!
Veterans Day: Thank you, Mr. Lent, for organizing this moving Veterans Day celebration and to all our staff and students who raised their voices in thanks.
A special tribute by one of our classes was the "Missing Man Table" or "Fallen Comrad Table" -
learn more here.
Our keynote speaker, Carolyn Wilcox, is a retired Air Force Veteran and Vice President of the Northville Central School District Board of Education. Ms. Wilcox shared, "I joined the Air Force having just turned 18, and 10 days
after my High School graduation, which happened to be on the front steps of
this school. By the time I left the Air Force, I was nearly 39. I had been
IN the military longer than I had been out of it, a lifetime. When I
entered, I was a child. By the time I left, it was no longer a service; it was
my life. I retired from the Air Force 16 years ago, yet another lifetime." She shared one way to acknowledge and thank someone for their service, "...a simple head nod and a smile."
Kayak Project: On November 3, Mr. Hoffman's CNCIII class met
with Stan and Cathy Zdunek, the owners of Slipstream Watercraft in Broadalbin.
At an earlier meeting, students were given feedback on initial kayak designs. At
this meeting, students presented updated plans demonstrating the stability of
each boat. The second group of students is working to join the top and
bottom sections of the kayak.
Hydroponics Extension to the Outdoor Learning Center: Jamie Dickinson applied for a $10,000 grant in September to support hydroponics education. On November 3rd, she received the good news, "
Congratulations! We
hope you're ready for liftoff because your school has been awarded the
Hydroponics STEM Program Grant for Fall 2022!" This work will bring hydroponics to our students in grades K-12 and continue our collaboration with our fabrication lab and computer coding classes. On November 21st, Mr. Ratti, Ms. Dickinson, and I will visit Fulton Montgomery Community College to learn more about their new hydroponics program and the micro-credential they are offering. We are eager to continue and grow our partnership with FMCC to provide our students with additional opportunities to earn credentials and college credits. Much more to come! If you'd like to learn more about hydroponics, visit
here,
here, and
here.
The Expertise Project: Mr. Karbowski shared a link to the finalized videos from his Community
Leadership and Service students' work on the Expertise Project in the
2021-22 school year. Watch the video here. With the support of the Fulton County Center for Regional Development and the Expertise Project, seniors were introduced to pathways in Fulton County, in the Mohawk Valley
Region of Upstate New York. This work will continue in 2022-23.
Preschool in the Library: Our preschool students have grown in so many ways over the past few weeks. They work and play so well together. I captured a few pictures of them on a recent library visit.
You can enjoy the visit at this link.
Trout Spawning Workshop: As part of a biology unit, the students in Mr. Hammons' are learning about trout. They visited a fish hatchery where the children helped to collect the fish eggs.
Photography: Our students create beautiful work in our new high school photography course and elementary photography club. The video below is just a sampling of the work produced in the elementary club. Students learn about composition, perspective, and selecting subjects to visually express their ideas. Multimodal expression - words, art, photographs, video, audio, and infographics - enhances and extends our communication. It fosters collaboration among students and staff as individuals bring varied creative talents and interests to projects. There are many options for integrating these diverse modalities across the grades and the curriculum. I have a new bulletin board outside my office -- enjoy
closeups of student work here.
Global History and Geography: On November 17th, Mr. Karbowski’s students met with Rwandan Genocide survivor Consolee Nishimwethe Rwandan via WebEx. The genocide began in April 1994. Her family took refuge in a Muslim area for protection, but her father and aunt were killed in April 1994. Her three brothers, 16-month-old Bon-Fils Abimana, 7-year-old Pascal Muvara, and 9-year-old Philbert Nkusi, were murdered a week later. Her mother, Marie-Jeanne, and sister, Jeanette Ingabire, survived. By the end of the genocide, 90% of the Tutsis in their town had been killed. You can visit her website to learn more.
The Lion King: Our students, under the direction of the teacher Samantha Boyle, share their performance of the Lion King with our school and community on Saturday, December 3rd, at 7pm and Sunday, December 4th, at 2 pm. They have been rehearsing after school for almost two months! Please join us for this fantastic performance.
An English Tea Party: Ms. Boyle's First Grade
Class has been reading the book "Snap Shots" from their Core Knowledge Language Arts curriculum. A girl visits her friend in the United Kingdom. We are learning about each country in the UK. We wrapped up our study by learning about afternoon tea and
practicing conversation skills while eating treats.
Laser-Cut Ornaments: Mr. Clapper's class used cardboard and laser-cut technology to make ornaments for the Northville Christmas tree. The pictures to the left show the multiple layers of cardboard combined to produce an ornament.
First Quarter Honor Roll: Congratulations to twenty-eight MS/HS students who earned first quarter Principal's Honor Roll.
Thanks to all whose efforts ensure a supportive, safe learning environment for our students.
If you would like to meet with me in person or virtually, just email or call to schedule a time during the school day or after your work day.
Be sure to visit our website to keep up with district news https://www.northvillecsd.org/.
And a few more pics adorning our hallways and classrooms!
In collaboration and joy,
Dr. Sarah A. Chauncey, DPS-IM
Superintendent of Schools
schauncey@northvillecsd.org
Work: 518-863-7000 x4120
Cell: 845-304-8791
